Hippies and Economic Development

The New York Timeswrites today on how a city — “usually seen as an enclave of hippies, marijuana dispensaries and rock climbers — has become a hotbed of capitalism.”

No, unfortunately, it’s not Eugene, it’s Boulder that’s become a hot place for high-tech start ups. Could Eugene follow the model?

The NYT notes some key ingredients to success:

• Author Richard Florida‘s recipe for “talented people and a high quality of life that keeps them around, technological expertise, and an open-mindedness about new ways of doing things, which often comes from a strong counterculture.”

• A University of Colorado “center makes sure that those veterans cross paths with young entrepreneurs. It hosts meet-ups, a campuswide business plan competition and a law clinic, where entrepreneurs get free legal help on things like intellectual property protection.”

• “a three-month mentorship program that has taken place in an old gym in Boulder since 2007, has spurred the start-up community’s growth.”

• “Several of them share space — tiny offices and a big common room, kitchen and deck — above Aji, a Latin American restaurant downtown.”